Pihanjin

Empress Liu was scolding several ministers who were kneeling in front of her, including Zhang Ban.

Several people agreed, suddenly heard the report behind them, turned their heads, and saw the **** leading Xie Changgeng to come, all secretly relieved.

Xie Changgeng stepped inside and knelt down to Liu Hou.

Empress Liu watched him saluting to herself, and when she was finished, uncharacteristically, she did not immediately call him down, saying: "Xie Qing, you have worked hard to protect Pucheng, and your majesty asked Ben Gong two days ago, how to reward this time, Ben Gong. I don't know how to answer your majesty."

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Ban and several people knew what she meant and looked at it secretly.

Xie Changgeng still knelt down, but slowly stood up.

His expression was the same as usual, and he responded to the two glances from Empress Liu, "The minister does not dare to take it. Losing Pucheng, Longguan is like losing the door, so the minister makes his own decisions. The minister is here to take the blame."

There was silence in the hall. Zhang Ban held his breath and did not dare to raise his head. After a while, Empress Liu hummed in his ears.

"Ben Gong has long known that Changsha has ulterior motives. If Zhang Ban had not mistaken me in the past, this hidden danger would have been removed long ago, and the people of the Mu family would be so arrogant today!"

Zhang Ban hurriedly shouted his grievance: "The people of the Mu family have always been honest on the surface, and the officials are confused, and they were only deceived at the beginning. Before speaking for them, every word and every word was out of consideration for the overall situation at the time, and there was no selfishness at all! Just like the King of Qi, this Fan Ruofei is exposed, and the court is full of civil and military affairs, who would have thought that he was the one behind those rebel kings?"

Empress Liu's face was gloomy, and she ordered several people to go out, leaving Xie Changgeng alone in the hall kneeling.

"You sent troops to Pucheng without authorization, and you should have been punished! For the sake of your loyalty and bravery, this palace will forgive you this time. If there is another time, I will not forgive you lightly!"

Xie Changgeng said, "Thank you for the grace of the Queen Mother."

Empress Liu still didn't call him to get up, stared at him, and continued: "When King Lu of Pingyang started the rebellion, this palace learned that Changsha Kingdom and the envoy of the rebel king had been in contact before, and the thief from King Qi came forward to protect him. , Ben Gong was gullible for a while. Now that King Qi is confirmed to be the leader of the rebellion, the country of Changsha will naturally be unable to escape the relationship, and will definitely be in line with the king of rebellion. Ben Gong wants to cut the name of the king of the Mu family and flatten the kingdom of Changsha, do you have anything to say?"

Xie Changgeng said: "I have nothing to say."

Empress Liu glanced at Eunuch Yang behind him.

The **** stepped forward.

"Since this is the case, Jiedushi should cut off relations with Changsha and the daughter of the Humu family. In this way, everyone in the world will know that Jiedushi's loyalty to the court is divided into two parts from the traitor Jingwei, and two parts for the turbid."

Xie Changgeng replied: "This minister has already acted in this way. Before entering the capital, he sent the divorce letter to Changsha. From now on, this minister has nothing to do with the Mu clan in Changsha."

Empress Liu's complexion finally softened, she smiled and nodded: "Aiqing really lived up to this palace's expectations."

She looked at Eunuch Yang again.

The **** smiled and said: "The queen mother is full of grace to Jiedu. Since she has retired from the Changsha Guomu family, she is afraid that there will be no one to serve the old lady. She has the sister of the country's uncle, the princess of Anyang, who is talented and beautiful, and the queen mother wants to give it to her. Married to Jiedushi, so that the county master can be filial to the old lady on behalf of Jiedushi. Why don't you express your gratitude?"

Xie Changgeng's eyes never blinked.

"The county owner has golden branches and jade leaves, but the minister has no blessings. The mother of the minister is an old country woman, and she can't afford to bow down as the county owner. Please take back the grace of the queen mother, and the minister will accept it."

His voice fell, and there was silence in the hall.

The face of Liu Hou, who had already revealed Ji Yan, sank again.

Eunuch Yang was also caught off guard.

Although Empress Liu was very dissatisfied with Xie Changgeng's initiative to send troops to Pucheng, King Qi colluded with many vassal kings to fight together. In the court, the person who could really count on it was Xie Changgeng. That's why Empress Liu beat her first, and then gave her kindness. Unexpectedly, he refused so directly, which, for Empress Liu, was nothing but a face-slap.

Eunuch Yang hurriedly said: "The Jiedushi, only the Qi family can establish a career, this is the kindness of the queen mother, you are thankful!"

Xie Changgeng said calmly: "I don't need to worry about the small matters in the private court of the minister. At the moment of chaos, the queen mother has urgently summoned the minister to the capital, so there must be other important matters. The minister is all ears."

Empress Liu was silent for a moment, suppressing the offended anger that gushed out of his eyes, and forced a smile: "Forget it, you are also worried. The country is in turmoil, and it's not too late to talk about it in the future."

She paused.

"This palace has summoned you to counter the rebellion. You should know the situation now. Hedong, Henan, and Shannan, many places have fallen into the hands of the rebels. On the west side of the river, you should let go. Enter the customs first, and help the court to quell the rebellion and recapture the lands. How much help is needed, you can just speak, and this palace can do anything!"

"I can't leave Hexi for a long time at the moment. The iron cavalry of the Beiren will attack at any time. If it comes, it will be a war. The first priority of the minister now is to protect the Hexi."

"Jizhou, Chuzhou and other places lost in the customs are adjacent to the fiefs of the vassal kings, so the queen mother does not need to worry too much."

Xie Changgeng took out a fold and handed it over.

"In this compromise, the ministers listed the available people in the court today. In addition, the ministers will also select competent generals from the Hexi army to enter the customs to quell the rebellion on behalf of the ministers. Who will be sent and where will be listed one by one."

"The vassal kings who participated in the rebellion this time seem to be numerous and powerful, but in fact, apart from King Pingyang, King of Qi, the rest of King Lu, King Runan, King Zhao, and others have limited troops and horses. , it is just watching the wind, it is strong from the outside, and it is hard to withstand a single blow. Before the minister returns to Hexi, he will first defeat the rebels of King Pingyang, leaving King Qi all the way, and it is difficult to support alone. As long as the court follows the deployment of the minister, it is enough to support it. I won't let the rebels approach Shangjing. When the ministers finish the matter in Hexi, they will return to the customs."

"No!" Empress Liu shook her head firmly.

"Why don't you obey the order of this palace?" she said, her voice sharp.

"Hexi is a place outside the customs, and it has nothing to do with the overall situation. Even if it is lost, it can be recaptured in the future. Hedong and Henan are related to the imperial court and society.

"You don't need to say more. This is to lead the troops and fight the rebellion with all our strength. The rest will be discussed in the future!"

Xie Changgeng had been kneeling all the time, but suddenly raised his eyes, he actually stood up slowly from the ground.

He stood up straight, looked at Empress Liu, who was staring at his eyes gradually widening in the opposite seat, and said: "The Empress Dowager calls the minister and asks the minister, this is the minister's countermeasure. If the Queen Mother does not approve, the minister will Take back the policy."

With gloomy eyes, he went straight forward after speaking, and went to get the fold that was transferred to the case by the **** earlier.

"Forget it, act according to your strategy, you can arrange it. If you can completely eradicate the troubles of the imperial court this time, it will be a worldly achievement, and the inscription on the monument will not be enough to match your credit. "

Empress Liu suppressed the sudden shudder in her heart, and said with a smile on her face again.

Xie Changgeng glanced at her, noncommittal, the anger between his brows gradually disappeared, he smiled, and slowly put down the book.

"Thank you, Empress Dowager. In this case, Rong Chen retires and calls people to discuss matters first."

He regained his respectful attitude, took a few steps back, bowed to Liu Hou, and backed out.

Empress Liu stared at the departing figure in front of her, her palms were almost bleeding from her fingernails. Thinking of the murderous face of this courtier a moment ago, she couldn't control it and shivered.

The spooky sprites who lost their captivity, burrowed out of the ground without any scruples, and trampled on the dignity in a grand manner.

She understands that from now on, everything will be different from before.

Could this be the omen of the end of the dynasty?

When the figure disappeared, she waved her sleeves violently and swept the thing before the case to the ground.

"The person sent to Xie County hasn't responded yet?" She turned her head and asked through gritted teeth.

Eunuch Yang had already knelt on the ground and hurriedly said: "The slaves are going to rush, the queen mother can rest assured! Our people have already gone out, and it will definitely happen!"

…

Jue Shu was sent to Changsha before Mu Fulan arrived.

When Mr. Lu handed over the Xiu Jue Shu, his expression was complicated.

The country of Changsha has been declared by the court as King Qi's rebellion. Xie Changgeng, a high-ranking official of the court, divorced his wife and severed his relationship with the rebels, which is well known in the world.

She looked at her sister-in-law's undisturbed calm face, and remembered the scene when she was thirteen years old when she led her quietly behind the tent to peek at the suitor.

The moment she saw the young man, her eyes seemed to be shining with stars, and the girl's face was filled with a beautiful blush of joy and shyness.

Everything seems to be yesterday.

Mu Fulan put away the paper, supported the pregnant sister-in-law, let her sit down, and said with a smile, "It's better to be benevolent. The sister-in-law doesn't have to worry about me. I'm fine. Take good care of your body and wait for your brother to triumph."

The month before, Jiang Rong sent troops to attack the land of the three clans. The three clans were defeated, and they once again turned to Changsha for help.

At that time, Changsha State secretly expanded its troops and practiced skillfully. After receiving a letter from Hexi saying that Mu Fulan was about to return, Mu Xuanqing sent Yuan Handing to pick her up. Trial.

Just a few days ago, there was good news from the South.

Mu Xuanqing defeated Jiang Rong, and with the help of the three clan soldiers, he was chasing after the victory, vowing to completely eliminate Jiang Rong, and call the land of Sanmiao to surrender to Changsha and pacify the south.

Mrs Lu touched her slightly bulging belly, mixed with joy and sorrow, nodded with a smile, and hoped that her husband would return safely soon.

In May of this year, a month after Mu Fulan returned to Changsha, there was good news that made the people of Changsha rejoice.

Their king led the army to quell the Three Miao Rebellion. The head of the three clans led the clan to come to Yuecheng with many tributes.

First, there is the life-saving grace of Lord Weng last year, and then there is the current battle to pacify the chaos.

Two months later, in July of this year, good news came one after another.

Changsha's army, in Shishou, Huarong, and Fuzhou to the north, successively defeated the battles launched by the nearby governors who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to seize territory in the name of helping the imperial court to quell the rebellion. Especially in the battle of Fuzhou, the governor of Fuzhou dispatched 30,000 troops, and they were aggressive.

During the battle of Fuzhou, not only the people of Changsha were proud, but also the name of the battle of Changsha spread, which made people look up.

In August, the fourth month of Mu Fulan's return, a special visitor came to Changsha.

Zhao Xitai, the son of King Qi, led the envoys and brought many precious gifts to Yuecheng in person to propose to Mu Fulan, the princess of the Mu family.